Ex-CJ SK Sinha, 10 others face arrest warrant

A Dhaka court on Sunday issued a warrant for the arrest of former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 other people in a case filed on allegation of misappropriating Tk 40 million, reports UNB.

Judge of the Dhaka senior special judge’s court KM Imrul Kayes passed the order after accepting the charge sheet submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), said additional public prosecutor Taposh Kumar Paul.

On 10 December last year, the ACC pressed charges against them in the corruption case.

ACC deputy director Benjir Ahmed submitted a charge sheet before the same court.

Earlier on 4 December, the ACC approved the charge sheet against the accused.

The 10 other charge-sheeted accused in the case are -- Gazi Salahuddin, senior executive vice president and former head of credit division, Swapan Kumar Roy, first vice president (credit division), Shafiuddin Askari Ahmed and Md Lutful Haque, first vice presidents of the Gulshan Corporate Branch of the Farmers Bank, M Mahbubul Haque Chisti, entrepreneur director and chairman of Audit Committee of the Farmers Bank, and Mohammad Shahjahan, Niranjan Chandra Saha, Santri Roy Simi and Ranjit Chandra Saha.

Besides, Md Zia Uddin Ahmed, senior vice president and former branch manager of Gulshan Corporate Branch of Farmers Bank, was relieved of charges as he died during the investigation.

On 10 July 2019, the ACC filed the case accusing the former chief justice and 10 others of accumulating illegal wealth and laundering Tk 40 million.

On 25 September last year, the anti-graft body summoned five officials of the Farmers Bank Ltd for interrogation over the deposit of Tk 40 million in SK Sinha’s account with the Supreme Court branch of Sonali Bank Ltd.

On 6 May 2018, the ACC interrogated two businessmen -– Md Shahjahan and Niranjan Chandra Saha -– for allegedly taking Tk 40 million in loan from the Farmers Bank using fake documents and depositing the money in the bank account of a VVIP.

SK Sinha went on leave on 2 October 2017 and left for Australia on 13 October amid a row over some of his observations in the 16th amendment verdict.

Just before his departure, he had told newsmen that he was not sick, contradicting the government’s claim that he went on leave on health grounds.

A day after SK Sinha’s trip to Australia, the Supreme Court issued a statement, saying he was facing 11 charges, including graft, moral turpitude and money laundering.

On 11 November 2017, SK Sinha resigned from his post of chief justice.